How to survive the M25
Discussion
Another accident on the 25 last night involving a LHD truck - this one looked really nasty.
I`m sure I`m preaching to the converted here, but never mind......................
Almost certainly the truckie was in the wrong, but it`s not much good saying it wasn`t your fault if you are in a hospital bed.
Ladies and gents,
NEVER, EVER sit alongside a heavy.
You cannot be seen. Overtake quickly, watching for traffic in front of the truck (will he need to pull out?)
If possible leave an empty lane between you and him.
If you have a dark car, run with your headlights on.
Obvious really, but someone was probably killed last night in an accident which wasn`t his/her fault, but could easily be avoided.
Steve
>> Edited by towman on Thursday 26th May 05:58
I`m sure I`m preaching to the converted here, but never mind......................
Almost certainly the truckie was in the wrong, but it`s not much good saying it wasn`t your fault if you are in a hospital bed.
Ladies and gents,
NEVER, EVER sit alongside a heavy. You cannot be seen. Overtake quickly, watching for traffic in front of the truck (will he need to pull out?)
If possible leave an empty lane between you and him.
If you have a dark car, run with your headlights on.
Obvious really, but someone was probably killed last night in an accident which wasn`t his/her fault, but could easily be avoided.
Steve
>> Edited by towman on Thursday 26th May 05:58
Totally agree Towman. 
If you took a handfull of car drivers and stuck them in with class 1 drivers for a week, out on the road, then at the end of it I guarantee that their driving would improve as a result.
Observing just how difficult it is to drive an artic and exactly what class 1 drivers have to endure on a daily basis, would give them far greater respect and understanding of what is involved in piloting a 44ton articulated lorry.
They would quickly learn all about the blind spot and taking wide turns and as a result would probably give a little bit more space than they did before to these monsters.
It's been said before but knowledge and education are the key. Not "Speed kills"!
If you took a handfull of car drivers and stuck them in with class 1 drivers for a week, out on the road, then at the end of it I guarantee that their driving would improve as a result.
Observing just how difficult it is to drive an artic and exactly what class 1 drivers have to endure on a daily basis, would give them far greater respect and understanding of what is involved in piloting a 44ton articulated lorry.
They would quickly learn all about the blind spot and taking wide turns and as a result would probably give a little bit more space than they did before to these monsters.
It's been said before but knowledge and education are the key. Not "Speed kills"!
wizzpig said:
If you took a handfull of car drivers and stuck them in with class 1 drivers for a week, out on the road, then at the end of it I guarantee that their driving would improve as a result.
Anything that opens people's eyes to how other groups of motorists see the world improves their driving. Hence why pretty much everybody I know who ride a bike have said just that.
I've put in enough miles towing car trailers to be in the thick of it with the lorries.
Truck drivers get a poor press, usually from those with no appreciation of their vision, performance etc.
Very good point Towman and well put.
The only problem is that the current pre-occupation of enforcement of speed limits that the option for nipping past an artic has all but gone. I know there is still a large difference in speeds with cars and trucks - but all it takes is a little bit of bunching and you end up on approximately similar speeds. You cant nip past or put your foot down for fear of the dreaded speed cameras....
Its this type of thing that counteracts the "savings" that the cameras make in the first place.
The only problem is that the current pre-occupation of enforcement of speed limits that the option for nipping past an artic has all but gone. I know there is still a large difference in speeds with cars and trucks - but all it takes is a little bit of bunching and you end up on approximately similar speeds. You cant nip past or put your foot down for fear of the dreaded speed cameras....
Its this type of thing that counteracts the "savings" that the cameras make in the first place.
leosayer said:
Forgive me for ignorance but these trucks have mirrors don't they?
They do, yes, but there is still a blind spot that you could quite comfortably hide a four door saloon in, especially on the vehicles "blind side" (this is the side oposite to which the driver is sitting, so for a LHD truck, as in this accident, it would be the off side).
This is accentuated when an artic is turning and the trailer obscures the line of site from the mirrors. They haven't developed a mirror that can see around corners or through a trailer yet.
CupraR said:
One thing I would like to see is a law saying trucks can't overtake each other unless they drive 12 mph faster than the truck in the left lane. This is the law on the autobahn and it should be here.
That's unlikely to happen as all HGV's are limited to 56mph.
It would be nice though.
CupraR said:
One thing I would like to see is a law saying trucks can't overtake each other unless they drive 12 mph faster than the truck in the left lane. This is the law on the autobahn and it should be here.
Agree with what Towman is saying - some wise words.
But CupraR has a point.
On the dual carriageway sections of the A1 the VAST majority of holdups/bottlnecks/bunching are caused by HGV's overtaking one another with an incremental/differential speed of 1 MPH.
I sat in a long line of cars the other day for about 5 minutes while one lorry crawled past another, at what seemed like a glacial speed.
So if all HGV are limited to 56mph they shouldnt be overtaking slower vehicles unless they can quickly, and safely pass, without undue hindrance to other road users.
In fairness though I guess there are as many Tw@ts driving HGV's as there are cars (i.e LOTS)
towman said:
One thing I would like to see is a law saying trucks can't overtake each other unless they drive 12 mph faster than the truck in the left lane. This is the law on the autobahn and it should be here.
So should we have a similar rule for cars then?
No because generally a car doesn't need 8 miles to overtake another car.
wizzpig said:
Forgive me for ignorance but these trucks have mirrors don't they?
They do, yes, but there is still a blind spot that you could quite comfortably hide a four door saloon in, especially on the vehicles "blind side" (this is the side oposite to which the driver is sitting, so for a LHD truck, as in this accident, it would be the off side).
As proved buy one of the 5th Gear or Top Gear programs. Tiff drove the truck with a remote control car to the right of him (LHG truck) pulled out touched the rear of the car and it turned 90 degrees left he then proceeded to push the car along like that until he stopped.
There was a story like this recently where the driver did not even notice he had done this and could not see the car being pushed along from his position from the cab, took a couple of miles before he realised
towman said:
One thing I would like to see is a law saying trucks can't overtake each other unless they drive 12 mph faster than the truck in the left lane. This is the law on the autobahn and it should be here.
So should we have a similar rule for cars then?
Hell yes. Coupled with a healthy increase in the speed limit, of course.
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